- North Korea: Regime fires “around a dozen” ballistic missiles amid rising tensions with South Korea
Source: France 24 [French state media]
“North Korea fired ‘around a dozen’ short-range ballistic missiles off its east coast on Thursday, Seoul’s defence ministry said, less than a week after South Korea proposed talks over a growing border row. The launches follow a slew of recent weapons tests by Pyongyang, including a new precision-guided torpedo system and an intermediate-range hypersonic missile, both of which were said to employ AI technology. … Thursday’s missile flurry comes against the backdrop of growing tensions over a landmine explosion along the heavily fortified border between the two Koreas that saw three South Korean soldiers wounded.” (10/29/26)
- Flávio Bolsonaro calls himself “leader of Brazil” after election loss
Source: BBC News [UK state media]
“The defeated candidate in Brazil’s presidential election, Flávio Bolsonaro, has referred to himself as ‘leader of Brazil’ in a letter he published on social media after leaving the country for the United States. Bolsonaro lost to his left-wing rival, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, in the run-off on Sunday by a difference of 4.4 million votes, but has not conceded defeat. In the letter, Bolsonaro alleges, without offering evidence, that he was the victim of ‘electoral fraud’ and says that he will lead the opposition from the US. He left Brazil on Tuesday after failing to comply with an order to surrender his passports, a decision which Lula described as ‘a shameful act’. Bolsonaro starts his letter, which he posted on his X account, saying ‘I address the Brazilian people and the international community as the leader of Brazil’.” (10/29/26)
- Screwworm Detected for First Time in Arizona as Outbreak Spreads
Source: mint [India]
“New World screwworm was found in Arizona for the first time, detected in a dog, as cases of the deadly parasite accelerate. The US Department of Agriculture confirmed the infection late Wednesday in a dog in Cochise County, Arizona. The spread of the parasitic fly, whose larvae burrow into the wounds of animals, had remained relatively contained since the pest was first detected in the US in June. Most of the early cases were limited to Texas. However, the pace of infections has increased this month, particularly in New Mexico.” (10/29/26)
- EU dropping associate membership title for its closer alliance with Canada
Source: CBC News [Canadian state media]
“The words ‘associate membership’ were removed from a joint statement expected to be released at this week’s Canada-EU summit, according to a draft seen by CBC News. But while the statement is now expected to use softer language promising closer ties between the 27-member bloc and Canada, the head of the European Union’s executive body continued to use the term in a social media post as she landed in Montreal on Wednesday. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen surprised many last month when she announced the EU would begin the process of making Canada its first associate member — a status that does not exist within the bloc — raising concerns among some members and Canadian politicians about what that would look like.” (10/28/26)
https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/european-union-canada-associate-member-9.7399578
- Turkey: Rock formation collapse in touristic Cappadocia region kills at least 3
Source: SFGate
“Parts of a large volcanic rock formation crashed down in Turkey’s popular tourism destination of Cappadocia on Thursday, killing at least three people and injuring five others, officials said. A section of the rock formation — known as a fairy chimney — tumbled in Cappadocia’s Goreme region, prompting authorities to deploy medical and rescue teams. Gov. Huseyin Kok said recent heavy rains likely caused the collapse, which occurred near a parking lot at an entrance to the site. He said rescue teams were continuing to search for other people who may be trapped under the debris. ‘We hope that there are no other casualties,’ the governor said. ‘We are deeply saddened.’ Kok said two of the three dead were Turkish nationals. He did not provide information on the third victim.” (10/29/26)
- FTC Orders Walmart, Delta and Others to Share How They Use Personal Data to Set Prices and Pay
Source: US News & World Report
“The U.S. Federal Trade Commission said Wednesday it is ordering Delta Air Lines, Walmart and other companies to provide detailed information on how they use consumers’ data when they’re setting prices. The commission said it is also studying how ride-sharing and delivery companies like Uber use their independent drivers’ personal data when setting compensation rates. … Orders were also issued to United, JetBlue, Lyft, DoorDash, Instacart and Target, the FTC said. Each company must share information that will allow the commission to assess whether pricing for tickets, rides, food delivery or other products and services varies from one person to the next based on factors such as participation in loyalty programs or analysis of personal data, the agency said.” (10/28/26)
- Mexico: Regime forces kill cartel leader wanted by US regime for $5 million
Source: United Press International
“Mexican naval forces killed cartel operator Jesús González Peñuelas, known as ‘El Chuy,’ during an air and ground operation that began Monday in Guasave, Sinaloa, authorities said Wednesday. The suspected drug trafficker was a high-priority target for the U.S. government, which had offered a reward of up to $5 million for his capture. Mexican Security Secretary Omar García Harfuch confirmed the death in a post on X, saying the confrontation began near the Alfredo V. Bonfil neighborhood in Guasave when naval personnel came under fire from members of a criminal organization and returned fire.” (10/28/26)
https://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2026/10/28/latam-mexico-cartel-leader-killed/9881793210807/
- UN condemns US embargo on Cuba, but backing erodes under Trump pressure
Source: South China Morning Post [Hong Kong]
“The UN General Assembly condemned the US economic embargo of Cuba for the 34th year on Wednesday, even as Washington’s campaign to influence the outcome led to a number of countries voting against the resolution or sitting out the decision for the first time. The vote was 130-17, with 25 abstentions – a notable decrease in support from last year, when more than 160 nations supported the measure and only 12 abstained. While such resolutions at the UN General Assembly are not legally binding, they do reflect world opinion. For the first time in 34 years, Western countries like Germany, Italy and Latvia were among those that refrained from voting. Bosnia, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Lithuania, Morocco, North Macedonia, Paraguay and Slovenia are among those member states that voted no – most for the first time.” (10/28/26)
- Romania: Regime extends pre-trial detention of far-right politician Calin Georgescu
Source: Al Jazeera [Qatari state media]
“A Romanian court has extended the pre-trial detention of far-right politician Calin Georgescu by 30 days, in an investigation into an alleged 1.1 million euros ($1.2m) fraud case. The decision by the Bucharest Court of Appeal overturned an October 13 ruling by a lower court that ordered the pro-Russian former frontrunner in Romania’s cancelled 2024 presidential election to be moved from police custody to house arrest for 30 days pending the fraud probe. Prosecutors said Georgescu and two other suspects persuaded a Romanian businessman to give them 1.1 million euros by making him believe they could help him secure a credit line of up to 15 million euros ($16.7m) from a foreign financial institution. Georgescu denied any wrongdoing and claimed the investigations were ‘politically motivated’.” (10/28/26)
- Every Day That YOU Don’t Donate To Our Annual Fundraiser, A Cute Little Puppy Dies!
I can say that with reasonable certainty because, sadly, cute little puppies die every day whether you donate to our annual fundraiser or not.
Donating to our annual fundraiser won’t save any of those cute little puppies (at least not directly), but you should do it anyway because you value our work and want to support it.
Nobody donated yesterday, so our total remains (as of 5am today) at $1,058 … and lots of cute little puppies are no longer with us. Coincidence? I think not.
Once we’ve raised $2,751.50, we have a “matching funds” pledge from supporter GL for the second half of our $5,503 goal.
Won’t someone PLEASE think of the poor, cute little puppies?
SUPPORT THE FREEDOM MOVEMENT’S DAILY NEWSPAPER!
Note: My wife, Tamara, has (thankfully minor) surgery scheduled for today. Between time at the hospital and waiting on her hand and foot while she rests/recovers, I’ll be more pressed for time than usual, so I expect tomorrow’s edition to be a “web-only” affair.
If the puppy trick didn’t work on you, how about “my wife needs an operation?”
PLEASE SUPPORT THE FREEDOM MOVEMENT’S DAILY NEWSPAPER!
Have a happy, healthy, and prosperous day!
Yours in liberty,
Tom Knapp
Publisher
Rational Review News Digest / Freedom News Daily - Israel: Netanyahu claims stolen election amid failure to secure victory
Source: Politico
“Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party on Wednesday said that voter fraud perpetrated by Arab citizens prevented him from winning a clear victory in the country’s election. In a statement from Likud reposted on social media by Netanyahu, the right-wing party railed against early results from Tuesday night’s elections, claiming ‘evidence of election theft in many Arab polling stations’ and urging law enforcement agencies to ‘act harshly and swiftly.’ Those accusations have not been verified, nor did Likud provide any evidence to support its claims. According to local media, Israeli police have said there is no evidence to suggest Arab parties meddled in the election. Results of Tuesday night’s election are not yet clear.” (10/28/26)
https://www.politico.com/news/2026/10/28/netanyahu-israel-stolen-election-claims-01139962
- Hacktivist group exposes more than 40,000 gang member identities
Source: CNBC
“The identities of over 41,000 officials from the Department of Homeland Security have allegedly been exposed in a massive data breach by a hacktivist group calling itself the Department of Peace. Late Wednesday stateside, the database was posted on Distributed Denial of Secrets, a nonprofit dedicated to news leaks, with claims that it was obtained from an Okta single sign-on service used by the DHS. It appears to reveal employee names, offices, contact information and assignments, and is searchable. … The searchable database appears to include employees from Immigration and Customs Enforcement, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Customs and Border Protection and the DHS headquarters.” (10/29/26)
https://www.cnbc.com/2026/10/29/dhs-data-breach-ice-cdp-deportations.html
- Federal Reserve holds interest rates steady even as inflation remains high
Source: CBS News
“The Federal Reserve held interest rates steady on Wednesday after hiking borrowing costs in September to clamp down on inflation. The central bank left the federal funds rate at a target range of 3.75% to 4%, keeping it unchanged after raising rates last month for the first time in three years. In a statement, the Fed said economic activity is growing at a ‘strong pace’ while acknowledging that inflation remains elevated.” (10/28/26)
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/federal-reserve-holds-interest-rates-steady-inflation/
- US regime tells ships to avoid unnecessary transits through Hormuz
Source: Transport Topics
“The U.S. military said vessels that have no need to move between ports in the Gulf of Oman and the Strait of Hormuz should stay away, as tensions ratchet up in the region. ‘Due to the current geopolitical situation, vessels which do not need to transit the area are advised to remain well clear to avoid unnecessary delays to their voyage,’ the U.S. Naval Forces Central Command said in an advisory on Oct. 28 issued via the Joint Maritime Information Center. … It remains unclear what prompted the advisory. The U.S. military last publicly issued a similar notice in mid-July, when it began its blockade of Iranian shipping.” (10/28/26)
- Trump, Murkowski hammer Peltola over Alaska ballot-stacking report
Source: Politico
“President Donald Trump demanded Wednesday that Democrat Mary Peltola be removed from Alaska’s Senate ballot following a report linking her campaign to a secret effort to peel away votes from Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan by recruiting a candidate of the same name. With less than a week before the midterms, the report intensified a fight over the competitive Senate race, drawing condemnation from Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski and a warning from Attorney General Todd Blanche that the Justice Department could take further action. … The president’s comments come after The New York Times reported Wednesday that Peltola campaign aides and officials with the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee participated in a monthslong operation to recruit another Dan Sullivan and other potential spoilers to the ballot in Alaska.” [editor’s note: Dirty trick? Sure. But in what universe is it illegal to recruit candidates for public office? – TLK] (10/28/26)
https://www.politico.com/news/2026/10/28/trump-murkowski-peltola-alaska-ballot-01140131
- Bolsonaro arrives in Miami after fleeing Brazil
Source: Yahoo! News
“Brazil’s defeated right-wing presidential candidate Flavio Bolsonaro arrived at a Miami-area airport on Wednesday, after the US State Department said it would issue visas to him and his family following his loss to President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in Sunday’s runoff election. … Bolsonaro’s arrival in the United States follows conflicting reports about his movements after leaving Brazil despite a court order banning him from travelling abroad. … Bolsonaro, who received tacit support from US President Donald Trump, is under investigation in Brazil for alleged corruption, money laundering and tax evasion. He was ordered to surrender his passport and is expected to lose his parliamentary immunity following his election defeat.” (10/28/26)
https://www.yahoo.com/news/us/articles/flavio-bolsonaro-arrives-miami-fleeing-172228550.html
- Italy: Meloni whines over judge’s “shameful” decision to free man accused of opposing Meloni regime
Source: Independent [UK]
“A judge in Milan has freed a 30-year-old researcher accused by police of helping orchestrate violent protests in Italy this month, in a ruling that has infuriated Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who denounced the decision as ‘shameful’. Youssef Siher, an Italian freelance journalist and geopolitics graduate of Moroccan origin, was detained by Milan prosecutors on 24 October on charges of incitement to commit crimes, aggravated by alleged terrorist purposes. … Prosecutors had portrayed Siher as a dangerous militant, but Milan judge Tiziana Landoni said in her ruling that the investigation appeared deeply flawed. ‘There are no serious grounds for believing that (Siher) committed the offences with which he has been charged, nor is there a risk of flight,’ Landoni wrote in her ruling.” (10/28/26)
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/italy-protests-meloni-youssef-siher-b3074930.html
- AK: State regime asks court to dismiss frivolous DOJ election lawsuit
Source: The Hill
“Alaska’s GOP-led government is urging a federal court to dismiss the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) lawsuit seeking to bar the state from certifying its midterm election results, according to a Monday court filing. The DOJ lawsuit, filed last week, claimed the presence of a candidate with the same name as incumbent Sen. Dan Sullivan (R) could give Democratic Senate nominee Mary Peltola an unfair advantage in the upcoming election. In a motion to dismiss, attorneys representing Alaska and the other defendants named in the lawsuit said the state’s elections division ‘has taken significant steps to distinguish them on the ballot so that voters can easily determine which candidate is which.’ The state’s filing also noted ‘the United States lacks authority to intervene in state elections at all, much less in support of a favored candidate,’ adding ‘the complaint has no legal basis.'” (10/28/26)
https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/6177625-alaska-gop-moves-dismiss-doj-lawsuit
- Spain: Train crash kills at least 68
Source: CNN
“Scores of people have been killed and about 100 injured after a high-speed train collided with a stationary train. Spain’s transport minister called it ‘inexplicable’ that a train was allowed to continue its journey despite a red signal being in place. … This is the third rail disaster in Spain in 2026. In January, two high-speed trains collided near Adamuz, in southern Spain’s Córdoba province, killing more than 40 people. A commuter train near Barcelona derailed days later.” (10/28/26)
https://www.cnn.com/2026/10/28/world/live-news/spain-train-crash-collision-intl
- US regime publicly confesses to five more maritime murders
Source: United Press International
“The U.S. military [murdered] five people in a ‘kinetic strike’ targeting a boat operating along what it called ‘established narco-trafficking routes’ in the Eastern Pacific on Tuesday, as a senior Pentagon official compared Latin American drug cartels to Al-Qaida and ISIS and accused them of orchestrating legal challenges to the military campaign. The strike is the 72nd known attack by the U.S. military on alleged drug-trafficking boats in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific since the launch of the operation in September 2025. In those strikes, it has [murdered] at least 243 people it alleges were involved in drug trafficking, though family members of some of the dead have said their loved ones were fishermen and farmers.” (10/27/26)
https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2026/10/28/SOUTHCOM-boat-strike/5591793158414/
- Death Was Never a Joke
Source: Law & Liberty
by Itxu Diaz“Macabre Halloween celebrations risk trivializing man’s ultimate fate.” (10/29/26)
- Mike Rogers’s Wife Runs a Consultancy That Sells Government Access
Source: The American Prospect
by Zachary Groz“Earlier this month, former Republican congressman and Michigan Senate candidate Mike Rogers appeared on the campaign trail with his wife Kristi, handing out $10 gift cards at a Detroit gas station. ‘We’re all struggling with incredibly high gas prices’, Ms. Rogers said in a video taken from the scene. ‘And Mike knows this[‘. What voters would not have known from that video is that Ms. Rogers runs a Beltway trade group representing energy traders, mining companies, and manufacturers in their efforts to influence federal officials and federal policy. According to ethics watchdogs, Ms. Rogers’s position, which has not been previously reported, raises the potential for serious conflicts of interest should her husband win his hotly contested Senate race against Democrat Abdul El-Sayed.” (10/29/26)
https://prospect.org/2026/10/29/mike-rogerss-wife-runs-a-consultancy-that-sells-government-access/
- Fifty Years Ago, Milton Friedman Upended Economic “Expertise”
Source: The Daily Economy
by John Phelan“Friedman challenged the idea that governments could spend their way to prosperity. Fifty years after receiving the Nobel Prize, his most enduring lessons remain crucial — and largely ignored.” (10/29/26)
https://thedailyeconomy.org/article/fifty-years-ago-milton-friedman-upended-economic-expertise/
- The marginalized and the rioters
Source: Adam Smith Institute
by Madsen Pirie“The recent rioting in France, and in the past in the UK, set me wondering ifrioting and looting are more likely to be done by groups that feel themselves to be marginalized. There is an important qualification. Feeling marginalized raises the odds of joining a riot. It does not explain who loots, or when. The current European wave makes the point. On October 17th some 550,000 people marched in France against the cost of living by the Interior Ministry’s count, and the processions were mostly calm. The violence and looting broke out on the margins, in cities from Limoges and Lyon to Marseille and Paris.” (10/29/26)
https://www.adamsmith.org/blog/the-marginalized-and-the-rioters
- Will the AI Investment Splurge Last?
Source: Paul Krugman
by Paul Krugman“The boom in AI-related spending is already enormous relative to the size of the U.S. economy and is widely expected to grow even bigger. Indeed, a widely cited projection by Stijn Van Nieuwerburgh of the Columbia Business School concludes, based on announced plans by major players in the industry, that this will be the biggest investment boom in U.S. history, measured as a percentage of GDP …. Well, I’m going to make a prediction: This will not happen. Instead, the splurge on AI will run into two walls that will force either postponement or cancellation of many of those announced projects.” (10/29/26)
https://paulkrugman.substack.com/p/will-the-ai-investment-splurge-last
- Trick, or Treat?
Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by Katrina Gulliver“It’s becoming an annual event that I write something about Halloween. I discussed Spirit Halloween Stores in 2024, and the economics of the holiday in 2025. This year, there have been controversies about candy. What it’s made of, how much it costs, and didn’t it used to be better? One debate started when the heir to the candymaking Reese family accused current brand owner Hershey’s of besmirching his family’s legacy by (he claims) using cheaper ingredients for the peanut butter cups. In an open letter on LinkedIn, he claimed that the product was so bad that he ‘had to spit it out.'” (10/29/26)
- A golden age of science is coming
Source: Noahpinion
by Noah Smith“AI can do things humans researchers can’t, even in groups.” (10/28/26)
https://www.noahpinion.blog/p/a-golden-age-of-science-is-coming
- Held in Trust
Source: Libertarian Party
by Alex Flores“Earlier this month a Fox News poll found that corruption in government is now the top concern of American voters, above inflation and gas prices. Most people who answered that poll were picturing current scandals. But some of the worst corruption in modern American history played out over decades, under Democrat and Republican presidents, and most voters have never heard of it.” (10/28/26)
- Why Do They Despise Musk?
Source: American Greatness
by Victor Davis Hanson“As the midterms approach, the Left has gone nearly berserk in its hatred of trillionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk. Yet its escalating venom would have been almost inconceivable before 2022, when Musk publicly declared that he would be voting Republican. Before Musk’s recent political reversal (he voted for both Hillary Clinton in 2016 and Joe Biden in 2020), he was beloved by the Left as the first successful upstart challenger to the century-long dominance of the Big Three fossil-fuel automakers. Liberals once loved his revolutionary, electrically powered Teslas and drove them proudly as a green virtue signal. Not now. Far-left podcaster Jennifer Welch has run out of Nazi epithets for Musk. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (ironically, given her own limited talents) trashed Musk as ‘probably one of the most unintelligent billionaires I have ever met or seen or witnessed’. ” (10/29/26)
https://amgreatness.com/2026/10/29/why-do-they-despise-musk/
- Sleazy Scheme
Source: Common Sense
by Paul Jacob“[O]n Alaska’s four-person ballot, the choices are incumbent Republican Sen. Dan S. Sullivan; Democrat Mary Peltola; the other Dan J. Sullivan, recruited by the Peltola campaign and the DSCC; and a registered Republican, Gerald Heikes, also recruited into the race by the Peltola campaign and the DSCC. All while lying about it, of course.” (10/28/26)
- John Locke and the Climate Crisis
Source: Liberalism.org
by Christopher R Hallenbrook & Ryan Reed“The harms of climate change are now well documented, from rising sea levels to destructive wildfires, severe flooding, and now the strongest El Niño on record. Yet classical liberals have often criticized proposals addressing this threat as impractical, costly, and/or beyond the legitimate scope of government power. We engage the latter critique by turning to John Locke’s writings. Locke is both a proponent of limited government and profoundly influential on liberal democracies. He argued that government exists solely to enforce natural law, and in doing so, it protects life, liberty, and property. While Locke presented the earth’s resources as existing to be exploited, he crucially limited property acquisition, arguing that natural law prohibits spoilage and requires we leave ‘enough and as good for others.’ We argue that because these caveats are part of the natural law, governments are obligated to take comprehensive action addressing climate change.” (10/28/26)
https://www.liberalism.org/p/john-locke-and-the-climate-crisis
- What to Know About Amendment 6 in Missouri
Source: Show-Me Institute
by David Stokes“Amendment 6 is dangerous. If it passes, it will be a disaster for Missouri. It would effectively strip the elected legislature of its power to address laws passed by initiative petition or rejected by referendum. Lawmakers could not change or repeal laws passed by initiative petition, nor could they pass any laws similar to one rejected by referendum, without approval from at least 80% of both chambers, and even then they could only send the change back to voters. That bar is so high that errors and bad policies would stay on the books. The ballot title calls the amendment an expansion of the petition process ‘by making it a fundamental right,’ but what it really does is empower special interests over elected officials and the voters.” (10/28/26)
https://showmeinstitute.org/article/state-and-local-government/what-to-know-about-amendment-6/
- JD Vance Turns His Midterm Stump Into a 2028 Pitch
Source: The Dispatch
by Michael Warren“There’s no denying that J.D. Vance, Donald Trump’s vice president and heir apparent to the MAGA movement, has been dealt a bad hand in these final days of the midterm campaign. The country’s in an anti-incumbent mood. Trump has perhaps worn out his welcome with voters after 10 years. Prices on necessities are stubbornly high. During a Monday rally in Montana, where the average cost of diesel is well over $6 a gallon, the veep was reduced to reminding his audience that, hey, petroleum prices have been high before, and it’s not the Trump administration’s fault.” (10/28/26)
https://thedispatch.com/newsletter/next-right/jd-vance-midterms-campaign-stump-speech-2028/
- Trump’s Bizarre Closing Message to Voters
Source: The Atlantic
by Jonathan Lemire“Trump’s primary rationale for why voters should support the GOP, as best I can tell, is that the affordability crisis is a ‘hoax,’ Bill Maher is a ‘loser,’ and Senator Jon Husted of Ohio has a nice physique. That easy-to-mock message has been accompanied by a staggering number of missteps. Just for starters, he’s belittled the impact of his stalled war with Iran, sided with Russia as it continues to pummel Ukrainian cities, defended an attack ad from the GOP candidate for Ohio governor that repulsed other top Republicans, downplayed high energy prices while boasting that U.S. oil and gas companies are ‘making a freaking fortune,’ embraced AI as the nation turns against it, obsessed over White House construction projects, and spent a lot of time talking about handsome men, Husted being just one.” (10/28/26)
- Colombia’s First “Republican” President Going Full MAGA
Source: Common Dreams
by Mario Alfonso Murillo“The empty spaces inside Colombia’s National Museum in Bogotá offer a dramatic, if not painful introduction to its new, right-wing government. Several dozen objects related to the peace process with the M-19 rebel group; the historic 1991 Constitution; and mementos of social movements, LGBTQ rights, and other artifacts of the country’s complex history have disappeared from public view. Those objects included a Carlos Pizarro campaign poster, an armband from the political movement that emerged from the M-19’s demobilization, and the student ballot associated with the constituent process that produced the 1991 Constitution. These histories record how Colombians previously excluded from national power fought to enter public life in a country governed for generations by a white, economically powerful, and politically exclusionary elite. Critics say removing them from the public view diminishes the evidence of that decades-long struggle. Museum anthropologist Andrés Góngora described it in El País as ‘a mutilated museum’.” (10/29/26)
- Repeal Gun-Free Zone Laws
Source: Independent Institute
by Brady Leonard“Within hours of the tragic shooting at Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend, Oregon on October 15th, the familiar political script was dusted off. Gun control organizations were immediately mobilized to demand fresh restrictions on firearm access, expanded waiting periods, and outright bans. Yet no policy proposed by gun control advocates would have changed the outcome, save for the one that left every student and teacher on campus defenseless.” (10/28/26)
https://www.independent.org/article/2026/10/28/repeal-gun-free-zones/
- Hispanic Voters Are Dissatisfied; What Will It Mean for the Midterms?
Source: In These Times
by Diana Orcés“One week before the midterm elections, most Hispanic Americans are unhappy with the direction of the country. Should Republicans be worried? According to PRRI’s newly released 2026 American Values Survey, where I serve as the Director of Research, nearly three in four Hispanic Americans (74%) say the country is headed in the wrong direction, up from 67% in 2025. Since the beginning of the current Trump administration, immigration has become an even larger pain point for Hispanic Americans. As arrests of undocumented immigrants without a criminal record continue to increase, alongside deportations and deadly ICE raids, most Hispanic Americans (77%) disagree with the way the federal government is dealing with undocumented immigrants. Even most Hispanic Protestants, who largely supported Trump in 2024, say their opinion of President Donald Trump has mostly changed for the worse.” [editor’s note: That might depend on their immigration status, legal or not; some may think it’s the only thing he has done right! – SAT] [additional editor’s note: According to the US Constitution, there’s no such thing as “illegal” immigration status; and if anyone is thinking what SAT suggests, that thing they’re doing that they think is thinking isn’t – TLK] (10/29/26)
https://inthesetimes.com/article/hispanic-voters-midterms-trump-democrats
- The Banker Trying To Save Liberalism
Source: Persuasion
by Jeffery Tyler Syck“While poll-tested liberal leaders fell to populism around the world, Mark Carney has done the opposite—by giving liberalism a moral core.” (10/28/26)
https://www.persuasion.community/p/what-mark-carney-gets-about-liberalism
- Linking housing affordability to successful transit: Lessons from Colorado’s Transit Oriented Communities law
Source: Niskanen Center
by Andrew Justus“The Denver region built a rail transit system but struggles to attract riders due to tradeoffs made in its planning and construction to prioritize speedy project delivery over ridership potential. Colorado’s recently enacted Transit Oriented Communities (TOC) law encourages communities to upzone land around transit infrastructure to boost the state’s housing supply and grow transit ridership. The law is likely to drive substantial housing growth that will complement the Denver region’s existing transit infrastructure, but to be most effective the state should better support communities that facilitate this growth.” (10/28/26)
- You own your life and property
Source: Eastern New Mexico News
by Kent McManigal“Those who depend on ruling others to make money, secure their position, or to gain power won’t let it go. Respecting your natural human rights isn’t in their interest. It’s up to you to secure your rights — to assume your liberty in the face of all those who want to rule you. Those who govern you hate your realization that liberty is your natural birthright as a human being. They’ll treat you like a criminal if you don’t pretend they have the right to rule you. Which they don’t, because this ‘right’ can’t exist. … Remember: you own your life and your property. You don’t owe them to everyone who demands them.” (10/28/26)
- The Midterms Offer a Choice Between Two Brands of Socialism
Source: Reason
by JD Tuccille“In the country with arguably the most successful market economy on Earth, it’s not unreasonable to ask for just one major political party to favor a system of relatively unfettered voluntary exchange. And yet, the midterm elections offer Americans a ‘choice’ between a party openly embracing socialism by name, and one that increasingly embraces state-directed economic activity in the cause of nationalism. Not every candidate running as a Democrat or Republican is on board with their parties’ statist transformations, and there are certainly other issues separating the two dominant political tribes. But if you want reliable advocacy of economic freedom, you won’t find it in the two major parties.” (10/28/26)
https://reason.com/2026/10/28/the-midterms-offer-a-choice-between-two-brands-of-socialism/
- What have the tech giants ever done for us?
Source: Adam Smith Institute
by Madsen Pirie“What does Jeff Bezos add to my life? And Elon Musk? and Mark Zuckerberg? and Steve Jobs? and Jimmy Wales? Jeff Bezos gave me the everything store. … Elon Musk made electric cars desirable rather than dutiful. … Mark Zuckerberg gave me free tools to keep in touch with almost anyone I’ve ever met. … Steve Jobs put a powerful computer in my pocket and made it simple enough for a child or a grandparent. … Jimmy Wales gave me the largest encyclopedia in history, free, ad-free, and in hundreds of languages. … The striking point is how little of this value the founders keep. The economist William Nordhaus estimated that innovators capture only around two percent of the social value their innovations create.” (10/28/260
https://www.adamsmith.org/blog/what-have-the-tech-giants-ever-done-for-us
- A Non-Nuclear NATO–Russia War Would Still Be Disastrous
Source: The American Conservative
by Ted Galen Carpenter“Moscow’s anger and frustration is rising, as indicated by the mounting number of incidents in the gray zone category in recent months. Yet policymakers on both sides of the Atlantic appear to have given little thought to the likely consequences of even a sustained, limited war in their countries. The ugly reality is that the impact would be highly disruptive at best—and catastrophic at worst. To the extent that experts examine the issue at all, they usually focus on the least likely scenario: a full-scale nuclear war between Russia and NATO. … But what if Russian or NATO leaders conclude that it’s possible to wage a limited war without either side resorting to the thermonuclear option? (10/28/26)
https://www.theamericanconservative.com/a-non-nuclear-nato-russia-war-would-still-be-disastrous/
- The War in Iran Comes Home to “Trump Country”
Source: Antiwar.com
by Nolan Denaro“Crude oil prices have once again risen above $100 a barrel. The national average for gasoline is hovering above $4. With Republicans nationwide being burdened by the stench of incumbency – regardless of whether or not the individual candidate is currently in office – a return-to-power seems all but imminent for the Democrats in the House of Representatives, and maybe even the Senate as well. This is even true in ‘Trump Country.'” (10/28/26)
https://original.antiwar.com/nolan_denaro/2026/10/27/the-war-in-iran-comes-home-to-trump-country/
- Republicans Can Tout Record of Healthcare Reform This November
Source: Town Hall
by Sally C Pipes“The midterms are approaching fast, and polls paint a grim picture for Republicans. GOP candidates are struggling to win over voters concerned about healthcare costs. Since President Trump returned to office, congressional Republicans have enacted several significant healthcare reforms. Some aim to restrain government spending. Others could put more money in patients’ pockets, expand their control over healthcare expenses, or address practices that contribute to high prices. Consider the Medicaid reforms included in last year’s Working Families Tax Cut legislation. Medicaid spending more than doubled between 2010 and 2024, rising from $397 billion to $932 billion. The new law seeks to restrain that growth, in part by requiring certain working-age beneficiaries to work, volunteer, or participate in education or job training for at least 80 hours per month to maintain their coverage.” (10/28/26)
- Please Let the Internet Die
Source: Wired
by Miles Klee“Online spaces are captured by oligarchs and saturated with slop—and they’re exacerbating humanity’s worst impulses. It’s time to start over.” (10/28/26)
- Politicized debanking was real all along: States can help stop it from returning
Source: The Hill
by Jeremy Tedesco“For years, Americans who lost their bank accounts over their beliefs were told they were imagining things. Banks sent form letters. Customer service read from scripts. Nobody would say why. The federal regulator that oversees the nation’s largest banks recently confirmed what many of us have argued all along: Politicized debanking was real, it was widespread, and it can easily happen again. … Trump’s executive order declared that no American should be denied financial services because of protected beliefs, affiliations or political views, and it set this report in motion. But executive orders and regulators change with administrations. Laws passed by legislatures provide more durable protection. That’s why the states matter.” (10/28/26)
https://thehill.com/opinion/finance/6176942-trump-order-fair-banking/
- Revolution or Extinction, the Choice is Ours
Source: Caitlin Johnstone, Rogue Journalist
by Caitlin Johnstone“Humanity has the freedom to fail this test and go the way of the dinosaur. We’re allowed to take that path if that’s what we collectively choose to do. We can allow a few massively outnumbered plutocrats and empire managers to drive our species to extinction via climate disaster, nuclear holocaust, or AI apocalypse if we want to. We are completely free to do that. I don’t know about you, but I actually find this a comforting thought. When you take a close look at the existential hurdles that humanity is faced with, it can feel pretty bleak. Global capitalism is destroying the biosphere we all depend on for survival. The western empire is getting increasingly comfortable engaging in reckless brinkmanship with nuclear-armed rivals.” (10/28/26)
https://caitlinjohnstone.com.au/2026/10/28/revolution-or-extinction-the-choice-is-ours/
- How H.B. Reese Turned Failure Into Sweet Success
Source: The Daily Economy
by Paul McDonnold“The entrepreneur behind the peanut butter cup once worked at Hershey’s. In his own basement, he discovered the power of turning failure into opportunity.” (10/28/26)
https://thedailyeconomy.org/article/how-h-b-reese-turned-failure-into-sweet-success/
- How Trump Could Interfere With the Midterms on Election Day, and the Days After
Source: Time
by Philip Wang“In recent days, Trump officials have sued to potentially block the certification of a Senate race in Alaska, threatened election officials in California with jail time, and implied that the outcome in a Senate race in Minnesota couldn’t be trusted if the Republican didn’t win. Trump’s allies have also been urging the President to potentially take drastic measures, including declaring martial law to seize ballots. Election officials in dozens of states are preparing for a wide range of possible interference on Tuesday when millions of voters will cast ballots, as well as in the days that follow as the votes are counted, the final batches of mail-in ballots come in and the election outcomes are certified. … Here’s how the Trump Administration could potentially interfere in each step of the election process—and how state and local officials, and various outside groups, are preparing for each scenario …” (10/28/26)
- Brazil and Venezuela face a tough road back to sanity
Source: New York Post
by Daniel McCarthy“Latin American democracy is being put to the test in Brazil and Venezuela. At stake is whether the left-wing government in either country can countenance the idea of legitimate opposition. The day after losing Brazil’s presidential election, Sen. Flavio Bolsonaro was ordered to hand over his passports and remain in Brazil. His uncle, also a senator, had warned him to flee or face certain arrest if he was defeated. The opposition leader seems to have heeded this advice — he’s reportedly trying to reach the United States. As Brazilians went to the polls Sunday to choose between Bolsonaro and leftist incumbent President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, another Latin American opposition leader had just returned to her home country after nearly a year in exile: Venezuela’s María Corina Machado.” (10/27/26)
https://nypost.com/2026/10/27/opinion/brazil-and-venezuela-face-a-tough-road-back-to-sanity/
- A Supreme Court Case Underlines the Absurdity of the Federal Ban on Home Distilling
- California’s Billionaire Tax May Cost More Than It Raises, Reports Find
Source: The Daily Economy
by Thomas Savidge“If a 5-percent levy chases billionaires out of Cali, the long-term income tax gap (not to mention litigation costs) will swallow any wealth-tax windfall.” (10/28/26)
- “AI Race” Against China: A Dangerous, Dishonest Narrative
Source: Common Dreams
by Nicholas Rabb & Jeremy Murray“As Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Washington recently to meet with President Donald Trump, discussions over Artificial Intelligence were hotly anticipated as an urgent matter of national relations, as it was this past May during the previous US-China summit. Disappointingly, little of substance has come of this meeting as well, despite fresh worries over AI doomsday scenarios from industry insiders, and pleas for both regulation and international cooperation. Once again, instead of hashing out guardrails to contain a fever-pitched ‘AI arms race’, the discussion revolved primarily around trade and resources. This discouraging result comes amid an atmosphere in the US in which tech CEOs and politicians claim that China winning the ‘race’ would spell the end of Western civilization.” (10/28/26)
https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/ai-race-china-dangerous
- ChatGPT Knows It’s a Bad Bayesian
Source: Bet On It
by Bryan Caplan“I’ve had many great arguments with ChatGPT. But it’s worrisome that I almost always win. Often, it concedes that my contrarian view is 100% write. At minimum, it asymptotes to conceding that I’m 70% right. Most people characterize this [a]s ‘sycophancy bias.’ But the problem is deeper. Like almost all human beings, AIs are bad Bayesians.” (10/28/26)
- Pink Flame of Liberty, 10/28/26
Source: Pink Flame of Liberty
“The Midterm DOJ Games – US v. Alaska.” (10/28/26)
- Parallax Views w/ JG Michael, 10/29/26
Source: Parallax Views w/ JG Michael
“UFOs, High Strangeness, and the Excluded Middle w/ Red Pill Junkie.” (10/29/26)
- The Science of Politics, 10/28/26
Source: Niskanen Center
“How well can we predict elections?” (10/28/26)
https://www.niskanencenter.org/how-well-can-we-predict-elections/
- The Daily, 10/29/26
Source: New York Times
“A Plan for Two Dans: How Democrats Manipulated Alaska’s Ballot.” (10/29/26)
- The David Frum Show, 10/28/26
Source: The Atlantic
“The Man Who Risked Death Documenting ISIS.” (10/28/26)
https://www.theatlantic.com/podcasts/2026/10/david-frum-show-omar-mohammed-eye-of-mosul/689185/
- The Moynihan Report, 10/29/26
Source: The Moynihan Report
“Punk’s Not Dead. And Neither is Legs McNeil.” (10/29/26)
https://www.themoynihan.report/p/punks-not-dead-and-neither-is-legs
- The Inner Life of Liberalism, episode 6
Source: The Inner Life of Liberalism
“Friendship on the Knife’s Edge (with Roger Berkowitz).” (10/28/26)
- Show-Me Institute Podcast, 10/29/26
Source: Show-Me Institute
“How Are Missouri’s School Choice Students Doing? With Collin Hitt.” (10/29/26)
- Political Theater, 10/29/26
Source: Roll Call
“Taxidermy, attack ads, early voting and more: On the road in Iowa and Texas.” (10/29/26)
https://chrt.fm/track/D3F8DG/traffic.megaphone.fm/FISCAL7594285838.mp3
- The Chris Hedges Report, 10/28/26
Source: The Chris Hedges Report
“The Real Reason Palestine Action Was Deemed a ‘Terrorist’ Organization (w/ Huda Ammori).” (10/28/26)
https://chrishedges.substack.com/p/the-real-reason-palestine-action
- Antiwar News with Dave Decamp, 10/28/26
Source: Antiwar.com
“US Sends Additional Patriot System to Israel, Saudi Airstrikes on Yemen Kill 14 Civilians, and More.” (10/28/26)
- NPR Politics Podcast, 10/28/26
Source: National Public Radio [US state media]
“Why some Dems back independent candidates for Senate.” (10/28/26)
https://www.npr.org/2026/10/28/nx-s1-6020407/why-some-dems-back-independent-candidates-for-senate
- The Tom Woods Show, episode 2808
Source: The Tom Woods Show
“Harvard Prof: Be Glad It’s Putin.” (10/28/26)
https://tomwoods.com/ep-2808-harvard-prof-be-glad-its-putin/
- Reason Interview: Neal Stephenson
Source: Reason
“Author Neal Stephenson explores the forgotten history of the atomic bomb, how Big Tech transformed the internet, and the enduring value of the Enlightenment.” (10/28/26)
https://reason.com/podcast/2026/10/28/the-untold-story-behind-the-race-for-the-atomic-bomb/
- Rising, 10/28/26
Source: The Hill
“Robby Soave gives his radar on a proposal from Washington DC City Council member Robert White to keep landlords from evicting tenants who fail to pay rent.” (10/28/26)
- Liberty Pub Live at PubKey, 10/28/26
Source: Free the People
“Join Free the People for Liberty Pub Live with Jack Hunter, Jim Antle, and Matt Kibbe to prognosticate on the coming midterm elections. What are the policies, good, bad, and ugly, that will determine who wins, and who loses? Spoiler: It ain’t pretty.” (10/28/26)
- Ron Paul Liberty Report, 10/28/26
Source: Ron Paul Liberty Report
“The Real ‘Affordability Crisis’ – Created By Government.” (10/28/26)
- Pink Flame of Liberty, 10/28/26
Source: Pink Flame of Liberty
“A Midterm Trump Hissy Fit – US v. Alaska – Part One.” (10/28/26)
- The Fifth Column, episode 352
Source: The Fifth Column
“The President Is No Longer Taking Calls (w/ Edward Luce).” (10/28/26)
https://www.wethefifth.com/p/the-president-is-no-longer-taking
- Reasonably Optimistic, 10/28/26
Source: Washington Post
“What a reality show taught this author about modern masculinity.” (10/28/26)